Dealing with damp. Anyone?

[KitKat1985]

Hi. Our house is relatively new (9 years old) but has had issues with damp / black mould from the day we moved in (nearly 5 years ago) so I'm sure the previous owners had the same issue (although hid it well under a re-coat of paint). We're trying to ventilate the house as well as we can but it still keeps coming back. Last year DH and my (very kind) brother spent 3 days solid cleaning the bathroom and covering it in specialist anti-mould paint etc, and it's already coming back with avengence. The window frames in our bedroom have rotted. The whole issue is starting to get me down and I'm tired of constant wall cleaning. Are there any more permanent solutions, and are there any specialists who could help us manage this better?

It sounds like really bad condensation which is usually caused by poor ventilation or a problem with the insulation. The house is relatively new and so should have tons of insulation built into it which should prevent the walls getting too cold and moisture in the air condensing against them. There should also be extractors fitted in the bathrooms as part of building regs and the kitchen. So, if you are also opening windows regularly, not drying washing over radiators etc, I'm not sure what can be causing it unless the insulation has failed in some way. All I can suggest is dehumidifiers in the rooms with the worst condensation and see if that improves matters.

As the property is less than 10 years old, it may still be covered by NHBC warranty. NHBC is notoriously bad at following up on problems but it might be worth contacting them - they will at least send someone who could explain the problem even if they don't do very much about solving it.

Is the house covered by a ten year guarantee?

We had a problem with our flat and mould. We kept cleaning it, used anti mould paint and still it came back.

We then invested in a dehumidifier and have noticed a big difference. Best £150 we spent.

We have been in touch with NHBC (so have our neighbours who have the same issue) and they won't do anything as it's not a 'structural issue'.

Are dehumidifiers expensive to run? I got put off my being told they cost a small fortune to run each year (but this was from my dad who notoriously exaggerates)!

We had some issues with what looked like rising damp and employed a consultant from Damp Detectives to investigate after a brand new damp course failed. He spent about 4/5 hours assessing the house, provided a full report and suggestions for remedying the problem. We did as he said and the damp is now drying out.

I would recommend to get to the bottom of the problem. It cost about £250.

Domestic ones cost a few pence a day. The industrial ones that dry out flooded buildings are expensive.

I have a damp flat. Hag mould spray works well to get rid.

Dehumidifiers are good. I got mine for £100 from Argos. It does help but I would spend more next time. I tumble dry everything I can and squeegee the windows each morning.

Meant to say I haven't noticed cost of running dehumidifier.

HG mould spray!

Dehumidifier definitely, make sure it's a good one, ours was £130 and was money well spent

Thank you everyone. Will look into getting a dehumidifier.

do you drape wet washing inside your home?

does the bathroom extractor fan work?

I feel your pain , i manage a rental flat for my Dad which is plagued by damp/condensation and has made 1 set of tenants very unhappy. I liked to think it was because of their fondness for drying their clothes on the radiators. I've invested in a dehumidifer, and a tumble dryer for the flat. Then this year there was a big leak, it was the radiator pipes and i was told by 2 sets of plumbers that the pipes are disintegrating. I am not sure, but it could be at least partly the cause for the damp. I'm having them isolated, and new pipes laid around the flat. I'm certainly hoping that will remedy the problem but only time will tell.
Could you have a leaking pipe somewhere, maybe in the bathroom?

A pipe leak will show on the water meter, if you have one.

Another vote for dehumidifies here. Currently £75 in home base.

We are in a very old cottage and it seems damp is pretty inevitable. The back of our wardrobes are mouldy, shoes and bags etc are going the same way. My sons toys etc.

On the first day we had the dehumidifier it took out over a litre of water from the air. The rooms smelt and felt better almost straight away.

We have a dehumidifier and it's very effective, especially for washing: at this time of year it will take 2l a day!

Thanks that's useful info PigletJohn. I'm embarrassed to say I don't know whether it's on a meter or not.

I'd echo the question about drying washing inside. I've also found extractor fans fairly useless so open a bathroom window when showering.

I agree with the suggestion to get a dehumidifier.

Although dehumidifiers work to extract moisture from the air, it would be better to work out what is causing that moisture in the first place and remedy that.

We do dry the clothes inside but we can't afford to run the tumble dryer all the time to dry stuff (obviously in good weather we just dry stuff outside). Interesting about the leaks - we have had loads! In the process now of trying to repair our third so far this year. Am sure that's not helping either.

I agree that in old houses, some degree of damp is inevitable. We also use a dehumidifier and it needs emptying every 2 days! It was worth every penny of the £200 or so we spent on it. I did live in a previous house though where the damp problem had built up for so many years that the floorboards were sopping wet and black with mould. That was not so easy to live with. I was extremely sensitive to it and in the end the only solution was to move, but other people didn't seem to react to it.

Modern tumble dryers are not so expensive to run - an hour for a full load of washing is well worth it rather than having washing draped all over the place making it mouldy. Plus it cuts down on the need for ironing.